Roleplay Chronicles: Freefall of Dimensions
by Melody Hakurei
Summary: Collab fic based off of a RP between me and Pearl Hikari. It all started as a simple party...and everything went out of control after that. Time for a little teamwork between worlds, but the bad guys aren't going to play nice... Yu-Gi-Oh/Rockman.EXE/Touhou Project/Castlevania/Yu Yu Hakusho/Who knows what's next? Does contain OCs, please don't be rude... Rated T just in case.
1. Party Origin: Perspectives Part 1

**Hey everyone! Pearl and I have been exchanging messages for some time now, and out of it we've created a little roleplay. We thought it would be a great idea to share it with the rest of the world! I hope you like the first chapter!**

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~Perspective: Pearl Hikari~

The world of fantasy is always perceived as a senseless one. Reasoning and logic become unnecessary, even becoming seen as foolish.

I guess you can say I used that as an excuse. An excuse to ascend into life and throw a huge party bash for no reason, other than the fact I was in a happy, festival mood. And also because of the fact I had the ability of telekinesis for laying out the food spread. I didn't need to hire servants or waiters; I could easily manage it all with my thoughts.

However, that was all my power stretched to; I couldn't manipulate the minds of others with the desire to arrive at the party. I had to actually inform the outside world of the festivity, and distribute the invitations accordingly.

A few e-mail exchanges later, and my roster list was filled to my liking. I stood at the festival gate holding a checklist, marking off the names of the newly-arrived.

Netto Hikari and Rockman came the earliest, both of them expressing a wide smile, and extending a cheerful greeting as they passed through the gates. Afterwards, Enzan and Blues were the next arrivals, though I could immediately tell Enzan was a reluctant guest, as his irritated face refused to soften, his crossed arms unyielding to let loose and wave at the other party members; Blues had a more neutral expression, and his soft rebuke to Enzan for arriving with such negative karma had me suspecting that Blues had to convince his operator to even come.

I ignored Enzan, however, and greeted the next guest: Katsuya Jounouchi. His gleeful smile reflected excitement, and especially greed when I saw him staring hungrily at the food scattered all over the tables. I surpassed a tiny giggle at that, and turned back to await the upcoming arrival of more guests.

My gaze, which became gradually blurry when I tried furthering it, slowly focused itself upon the gates ahead, where the party members were required to submit their invitations before being admitted. I was seriously against that sort of system, but of course the other people who had helped me organize the party insisted on an "official" safety system and arranged for an "official" guard. I warned them that the guard would only keep my friends out, as the people I generally tended to invite where protagonists, who abided by the rules, and not evil forces bent on world domination.

Besides, a guard wouldn't be enough to keep out anyone in the latter category, as evil forces bent on world domination could just use their sinister talents to easily pass through and gate crash if they wanted.

That was beside the point, however, and even my weak eyesight perceived the scene which was occurring at the "official" gates: the twin spike-haired silhouettes of Yugi and Yami were arguing against the burly gatekeeper, arguing for entry in. I could see the golden Eye of Anubis glimmering on Yami's forehead, full aware that he was getting to the desperate point of a Mind Crush; I had to intervene.

Or rather...Melody did. She had just arrived at the "official" gates, merely held out three slips of paper, and the gatekeeper allowed all three of them through.

"Sorry about that," I apologized when they reached my own gate. "Look, it wasn't my idea to hire a gatekeeper. . ."

"It's okay!" Yugi reassured me. He turned to glare at Yami, and rebuked him, "See? Melody solved the problem _without _a Mind Crush!"

"He would have deserved it," Yami muttered.

Melody, however, said nothing. I marked down the names of this trio, and turned to announce to the party guests, "OKAY, GUYS! PARTY'S ON! WHO WANTS PIZZA?!"

Melody angrily clasped her hands into her ears, though I couldn't blame her; my voice was the volume of a megaphone, and she was standing right next to me.

~Perspective: Melody Hakurei~

Ok, I wasn't too keen on the idea of having a massive party for all protagonists at first. My reason, you ask? By experience I knew that festivities were never settled peacefully, especially with all of the good guys in one place at the same time. Or maybe it was the fact that I was sometimes seen as a cold, aloof, and mysterious person, not someone who'd usually go all out in a party. Or I was just a little tired. In any case, I had nothing better to do, so I went along with it. She did have me to thank for introducing her to some of the guests after all. Just one of the many perks of being a dimension traveler. I just hoped nothing would go wrong…

"Do you have to be so loud?!" I hissed angrily into Pearl's ear. She had just yelled her lungs out to announce to the rest of the guests that the pizza was ready.

"Yup!" The blonde replied cheerily. "I was afraid the others wouldn't hear me over all the chattering!"

"Actually I was being dead silent..." Enzan piped in from my right.

"Riiiiiiight," Blues said in response. "So it was Enzan-sama's identical twin I saw talking to Melody."

I sighed. I had already figured out that Enzan had a minor crush on me, and everyone else had noticed as well. They loved to tease him on it.

The boy sweatdropped, then turned back to me. "Well...want some pizza, Melody? No, don't stand up, I'll get it for you."

"Nah, I'm not hungry," I replied.

"But we are!" Netto and Jounouchi shouted simultaneously with huge grins on their faces. They then proceeded to pile pizza onto their trays, forming a tall tower.

Pearl looked on with a hint of embarrassment, but then added, "Well, I have no right to judge them since I'm also hungry..." She then followed suit.

"You starving beasts…" was all I could say in disgust.

Netto then gave me a funny look. "Um, but only Rockman can Beast Out…" Ah, density and stupidity, my biggest pet peeves.

"It's a figure of speech!" I said, exasperated.

Apparently that made it only worse. "Figure? Oh no, she's gonna tutor on me math problems!" the brunette whined.

Rockman, the more sensible of the twins, sighed. "N-Netto-kun, I think Melody would beg to differ…"

I nodded in agreement. "You're hopeless…knock some sense into him, will you Rockman?"

"Er…that'll take a while, Melody-chan," the Navi replied as he reached for a cookie.

"Seriously?! Where can I get one of those?!" Netto shouted. Obviously, he was still thinking with his stomach.

"Oh well…" I said. "not like I want to do that anyway…"

"Fair point," Enzan added, taking another cookie.

"Oh, c'mon, why doesn't someone tell me where those cookies are?!" Netto whined.

Enzan then pointed to the table. "On the table, Netto. They were there the whole time."

"Oh…" was all that the brunette could say.

I was starting to get fed up. "And you didn't notice THE ENTIRE TIME?!"

"Well," Rockman said, "Netto-kun can be flat out oblivious sometimes..."

"What was that?!" The brunette yelled indignantly. I couldn't help but smirk at his embarrassment. "You don't say?"

Before I could say more, Enzan tapped my shoulder and handed me a cookie. "Here," he whispered. "Do you like the chocolate-chip kind?"

"Why yes," I replied, but then stopped short. Something was up, and I knew exactly what it was. "Hold on a second," I added, and then made a gun shape with my right hand. I then fired a backhand homing amulet shot, hitting a small video camera. "Nice try Blues, but Reimu's homing amulets work extremely well."

The ruse up, Enzan's Navi came out of hiding, undoing a Invis chip that he had equipped to hide as he quietly filmed me and Enzan together. Luckily I stopped it before it could be used as blackmail. "I can't believe you tried a thing like that," Enzan said annoyed, glaring at him.

"Well," Blues retorted as he folded his arms, "you posted a video of me, WITH MY HELMET OFF, brushing out my hair...on YouTube. What do you think?"

Rockman applauded. "Impressive, Melody-chan…does this mean that you can see through invisibility and illusions?

"Well," I explained, "I mostly get it from my intuition. A Hakurei's instinct is always accurate."

~Perspective: Pearl Hikari~

I couldn't help but find it ironic when Melody mentioned the power of intuition. I couldn't help but feel my own intuition spouting a warning, informing me that the assumption of safety was a misjudgment. From a far-off corner in the distance, I could feel the air shimmer, and I heard the winds whispering amongst themselves, hissing like snakes in argument.

"Oh...that means she'll notice us!" the deeper voice said furiously.

"Rocky, don't you even try jinxing it," protested the second, and more feminine voice of the two, "Because if we get spotted, I'll-"

I immediately recognized the second voice; since I was a child, I had become aware that my alternate, darker self-whom I thus termed "Pearl DS" (dark soul)-had received her own physical form and was who I could become if I misused my powers. I had no idea why she came into existence, and all I could gather about it was that Pearl DS's purpose was to retain a balance with me, the opposite side of the same coin.

I never understood that, and one of my greatest fears is of something I don't know. I hate to admit it, but a part of me still fears her. I call myself "Hikari" "light" because I'm scared of the opposite-I'm scared of turning evil. And the fact that she was here with Dark Rockman didn't exactly boost my confidence meter either. She and Dark Rockman usually carried out their evil plans together, and Dark Rockman is the only person Pearl DS terms "Rocky". Apparently, they were invisible, but hearing them speak made me aware of their presence, though before I could take action-

"Hm...Yugi, can you do something for me?" Melody said loudly. There was an eerie confidence in her voice, one so befitting the cryptic and omniscient persona I associated her with.

"What is it?" Yugi asked.

"Use that staff I gave you and fire a spell card right...over...there," Melody responded, pointing in the direction of the two dark sides, a valiant smirk surfacing upon her features.

I grinned as well; I immediately realized what Melody was referring to, and the sinister humor derived the pain my dark side would feel brought a true evil smirk to my face.

Yugi, still not comprehending the situation, merely replied, "There's nothing there...but alright."

He summoned a glyph-ridden staff, and proclaimed the spell: _"Silent Gamer's Magicannon ~ Monochrome Spark"!_

The tip of the staff ignited, and the gray, spark-coiled beam erupted from the wand, colliding head-on with the ground and forming a gigantic crater as a memento of the blast.

I heard the dark sides' source-less voices pipe up again: "C'mon, Dark Rock! Keep running!"

"I-" Dark Rockman was about to retort in a rude manner, but his voice suddenly screeched with concern, "Pearl DS, watch out!"

Too late. Pearl DS discovered the significance of his warning the hard way; she crashed straight into Yami Yugi, whose former neutral expression changed to one of cartoony bafflement, and reconfiguring to pure, cold rage. I heard the collision sound of a distant face-palm, and Dark Rockman muttered, "Looks like it's one of those days..."

Yami, however, saw no humor in situation and stared cold daggers at Dark Rockman when he made himself visible. In the piercing-ice tone of a threat, Yami snarled, "And what do you think you're doing?"

Dark Rockman recognized the danger. Hastily, he replied, "Nothing happened, Pharaoh! Just pretend you didn't see anything, okay?"

"Um...I'm still invisible. Technically, he DIDN'T see anything," Pearl DS pointed out, in a careful, hoarse whisper.

Dark Rockman face-palmed again, and muttered, "It's a figure of speech. . ."

Yami's voice did not soften at that attempted appeasement, and his threatening tone persevered. "You just called me Pharaoh...you're hiding something," he said icily. "Spill it. _Now._"

~Perspective: Melody Hakurei~

With those words, I knew Dark Rockman was screwed, big time. One of the traits I had learned about Yami and Yugi was that they were masters of deception, and they could usually detect it as well. I guess it's another thing you have to know if you're called the King of Games.

Dark Rockman had lost his cool by this point, and was desperately trying to save face. He somewhat instinctly stood in front of what I already knew was Pearl DS with his arms spread out, as if he was defending her. "Nothing! Nothing! Just get lost, Pharaoh…!"

The hidden dark side then said the exact thought I had in my mind: "You practically gave it away right there, Rocky…"

Yami's expression narrowed, as he had come to the same conclusion. "There you go again…" he said in a low, dangerous voice."Well, if you're not going to tell me, then I'll find out myself." With that, a golden eye appeared on his forehead, a symbol that was iconic for him: The Eye of Anubis. With it, he finally saw Pearl DS, and the question he asked next was more of a forceful demand: "Now, what do we have here?"

Needless to say, both dark sides were starting to seriously lose it. "Dark Rock, do something!" Pearl's dark side screeched. "NOW!"

"Uh…um…well…" Dark Rockman stuttered. Out of options, he did something that I already knew was kind of stupid and foolish, but he still did it with a desperate hope. He poked Yami straight in the third eye. "There. I did something."

There was a short silence, then a miffed Yami spoke. "Did you seriously think that would do something useful for you? It's an indicator of Millennium magic, not another physical eye." The Pharaoh's tone of voice then plummeted another 10 degrees: "Now scram, unless you want to be on the receiving end of this." He held up a single spell card that I instantly recognized; the distaff counterpart of the card Yugi had just used earlier. I decided that I would inform the victims what they were up against. Call it cruel mercy, if you wish.

"Oh, and FYI," I piped up with a hint of amusement, "that's a Spark Card. I assume you already know that since Yami is probably the only dark side on our side, he's also the most brutal."

It seemed though that the matter would be settled quietly. Dark Rockman sighed and then said, "Look, I did the first thing that came to mind, okay? Don't rub it in."

"But fine," Pearl DS added bitterly. "We'll leave." She grumpily stomped off, still invisible, but I could still see her angrily whacking the air. Just her luck, she happened to hit Yugi in the process. Dark Rockman took one glance at Yami and then gulped. "The Pharaoh's not looking too happy right now…"

A rule you might want to know if you ever hang out with Yugi and Yami: if you value your life, _do not_ try to hurt Yugi. His dark side will see that revenge is served, _painfully._

"I suggest you start running…oh, I don't know, _now?"_ I said, indifferent to the scared look on Dark Rock's face.

"Why you little…" Yami spat out. He summoned a sword, one I had given him the same time Yugi received his halberd staff, and pointed the blade tip at his target. _"Shadow Gamer's Magicannon ~ Penalty Spark"!_The tip ignited, and a purple and black laser burst out, barreling right for Pearl DS.

"Grr, you won't scare me away that easily!" the dark side shot back. _"Scythe Sign: Black Cutter's Defiance"~!_

And with that, explosions erupted, signaling the first fight in what would be the least of our problems.

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**Thanks for reading! Please write your thoughts in the reviews! Chapter 2 is on the way~**


	2. Party Origin: Perspectives Part 2

**Hey everyone! Like promised, here's Chapter Two!**

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~Perspective: Pearl Hikari~

My eyes gleamed like beady studs, my mouth curled like a serpent's. Those were the signs of the grim satisfaction I received as I marveled at the unfolding spectacle.

Yami's brutality was staggering, so much to the extent my dark side was helpless, and her spell cards were merely swatted away by Yami's superior magic. I laughed at the scene, scorned the blood and fear Pearl DS had shed during the battle. She had delivered so much misery to me over the years, and now watching Yami obliterate her without even breaking a sweat gave me a sinister, dark joy.

I was only disappointed that my dark side was able to escape, thanks to Dark Rockman quickly grabbing her and teleporting away.

"Wow," I said bemusedly. "Wow...he not only beat my dark side, but did so to yours too, Rockman..."

"Nyeh, what did you expect?" Jounochi piped in, "This is Yugi's alter ego we're talking about."

"Good point, Jounochi-kun," Rockman agreed, "I guess now we can be peace as we don't have to worry about the dark sides..."

Merely verbalizing that statement irked destiny to contradict it, as before any of us could enjoy our relapse of peace, two new dark incarnates quickly made their presence known by warping into existence at our very eyes.

"You were saying?" Yami Bakura asked mockingly, in his clear-cut British accent.

Yami Marik joined in, stating, "And we want our REVENGE! Oh, yeah...anyone want a hug...?"

"Oh, Florence and Melvin...how pathetic," Melody mused, in her cryptic, confident voice. I felt a quick swish of hand motion, and the spell erupted into a bullet-fast spiral of amulets.

"Oh no you don't!" Yami Marik growled, "We've prepared for that, and-!"

"But not for this!" I intervened, my arms flailing with movements befitting a mime, my sudden spell leaping into play. Mist enveloped the field, spawning a glyph-clad panel underfoot, forcing the two yamis' down its non-existent depths and into a trap I had preordained for possible villainous gate crashers.

_They'll never be able to escape where I've sent them,_I triumphed. _At least, not immediately. I mean. . .we all know the worst enemies of humanity are doors requiring an entry code. And this one has six digits! Heh, the look on Melvin's face. . ._

The prospect of the spirits' reactions brought satisfied laughter to my voice, and I decided to switch on the security camera to see how Marik and Bakura were faring against my trap.

"Seriously?!" Yami Marik shrieked when he beheld the code-requiring door blocking his entry to freedom, "I don't even know any death words with six letters!"

"How about 'murder'?" Yami Bakura suggested.

Desperately, Yami Marik jabbed the necessary characters for the death word. The door refused to accept the code, released a disapproving _beep_, and announced that another password needed to be entered.

"That didn't work!" Melvin lamented.

In annoyance, Bakura muttered in disdain, "Oh, of all the bloody-"

That last word became the next attempt of Yami Marik's at the passcode, but of course, all he received in response was the door stating, "ACCESS DENIED".

Aggravated at the constant denials, Yami Marik attempted to blast the door down with Millennium Magic, ignorant of the fact that I had equipped my trap with a reflective spell. All attacks would be rebounded to the user, as I had set one rule for getting the past the door: passwords only.

Using magic would be activating your own personal Penalty.

Yami Marik discovered this the hard way, which wasn't a desirable route as he had attempted a multi-hit spell, its rebounding power forcing those present to consistently jump in evasion until the spell wore off.

At this point, I couldn't help but burst out laughing. The only regret I had was not installing a troll face into the door.

~Perspective: Melody Hakurei~

"Nice work," I said, "but he'll figure it out eventually…and when they do, I'll be ready. I couldn't help but smirk as I held a special amulet in my hand. During my travels, I had created special techniques to combat enemy threats, tools to aid the heroes. I wasn't called the Master Controller by one of my friends for nothing. The amulet had a red and blue border, the inside resembling a shattered mirror of black and white, with several key words written on it in Japanese. It didn't seem like much but that one slip of paper held the key to a power that had resulted from the fusion of two ancient types of magic. It was quite likely my greatest achievement. And yet it had formed from an accident.

Pearl then interrupted my thoughts. "Yeah, well...in the meantime, who wants to play a Children's Card Game?"

We all nodded in agreement. Hey, couldn't hurt, right?

During the games, Jounouchi decided to start a small conversation. "Nyeh, hey Pearl, what was the pass-word on those doors anyway?"

Pearl giggled. "Well, I decided to use reverse psychology…Melvin and Florence would have expected me to use a complex one, so I did something really simple and obvious."

"Which was?" Rockman inquired.

"BAKURA," she replied. "I wonder when they'll get so desperate they'll enter their own names as pass codes…?"

"Oh, it won't take long," I said. "The last time Melvin tried to unlock a password door he eventually got to it: 9999."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that, but with words, result'll take longer…"

Time passed. There really wasn't much of a party anymore, it had mellowed down into a simple hangout, which I was totally fine with. Of course, that wasn't going to last much longer.

I was sitting in a stool drinking tea, legs crossed, when I glanced at the security camera just in time to hear Marik tell Bakura that he had managed to crack the door. After briefly telling him the password Marik then dragged Florence out of the room.

Alright, playtime was over. It looked like it was time to teach the buffoons what happens when you try to interfere with the main characters.

"Oh, they're here…" I said lightly in an emotionless voice. "I'll take care of it." I set my tea on the table and stood up.

"Hey there's no telling what Melvin and Florence are gonna do," Pearl piped up. "I'll help." Setting her half-eaten pizza, she added, "And if someone touches the pizza, I'll sue." With that, she ran off after me. However, the scene that greeted us in the next room was not what I was expecting. It soon got onto my nerves.

Marik was singing a line from a song he and Florence had done, "Literal Pants". To this day I still don't know how he managed to bribe Yami Bakura into doing it.

The Thief King quickly clamped his hands over his ears. "Seriously?!" he yelled. "Why do you always sing?!"

Marik wasn't alone, either. I then heard Yami singing in his strong, baritone voice. "But you're not gonna get my Pharaoh's Throne~" Better than Marik, I had to admit, but now wasn't really the best time…

"You too, Mou Hitori no Boku?!" Yugi said, slightly embarrassed.

"Hey, Yugi, you coming?" I asked him. I was pretty sure it would be a good idea to bring him along. "And Yami, shut up or your Aibou will make sure you do." Another thing I learned about Yami: He might be dark and a bit snarky, but if there was anyone who could put him in his place, it was Yugi.

"Y-yeah," the light side said in response to my question. "I want to see if I can help you and Pearl-san…"

Yami then pulled an epic pout face. He knew full well that couldn't say no. "…Fine. But-"

Jounouchi then blurted out lyrics from his trademark song. "Can't beat my, can't beat my, no one can beat my BROOKLYN RAGE!"

"I don't want to be a furry~" Netto sang along.

"N-netto-kun…" Rockman said, with the same expression Yugi wore just moments ago.

Enzan facepalmed. "Okay, since when did this become a sing-along?!"

"Don't ask," I replied. "Besides, if they don't stop I'll make them, courtesy of Millennium Meltdown." Just one of my many tactics to obliterate anyone in my way into ashes.

~Perspective: Pearl Hikari~

When I saw the threatening glint in Melody's eyes, my voice of reason took hold of me, and I advised, "Uh, why don't we save the Millennium Meltdown for Melvin and Florence? That would be more logical... right?"

Netto wasn't interested in helping out, and continued to the next song verse: "I gotta beat Rex and Weevile 'cuz they're evil!"

Jounochi supplied: "And I'm groovy with my Yugi~ ! I'm not baggin', I'm just hanging with my baby dragon!"

Enzan prevented them from reciting further lyrics with his loud, agitated voice outbursting with the request, "Melody, could you make them shut up NOW? _Please?_"

Melody's intense eyes softened, though the threat was still glinting in her irises. She pulled out another spell card, one decorated with blades and misty glyphs, the fancy designs that just made it look just as mysterious and cryptic as its bearer.

"Fine, I won't use Meltdown," Melody mused, "Instead. . ." Her spell card flickered with menacing light, ready to be triggered at a second's command, "I'll let them enjoy a flechette storm."

Despite how nervous I felt by the impending presence of a new spell, the sound of footsteps registered in my brain. "Oh, wait! I hear footsteps!" I blurted out, a smirk in league with Melody's surfacing on my face. My sudden shout beckoned a silence from the group, and Melody shot me an anxious expression, like, _Is it them? Melvin and Florence?_

_Only one way to find out._The spell card I held out was velvet black with royal-red ridges, surrounded with scythe-like patterns and trickling crimson rivers that resembled flowing blood.

"Now I can try the new spell card I got," I said with dark confidence_,"Pulse of Dissonance: Preordained Death!"_

Scythes sprang to life from the card, forming a bladed, spiraling ring around the red bee-line rays that shot down the corridor, a painful rush of clanging steel and crumbling granite confirming impact. Melody glared at me with disgusted surprise, her eyes saying it all, _You weren't kidding when you said "new", were you? That spell card isn't yours._

She was right, too. The pattern of scythes and blood were trademarks of my dark side, and anyone who knew of the two of us could easily tell that spell belonged to Pearl DS, not Pearl Hikari. But, in my defense, my dark side had dropped the card after Yami had defeated her; I was merely claiming the spoil of war. _War,_in its literal context, as Pearl DS and I had proclaimed war on each other ever since we became aware of our reflected side's existence. And hey, she's swiped spells from me as well.

"Yes! Got 'em!" I exclaimed, quickly stowing the stolen card in my pack, hoping to deviate attention away from it.

The angry, muffled voice that echoed down the corridor nearly made me drop the card altogether, as its volume wasn't only loud, but it belonged to a completely new party whose presence I knew would only make things more complicated.

"Okay! Who's the idiot who just tried to kill me?!" yelled Seto Kaiba.

Mokuba's squeaky voice followed, and he shouted, "Big brother, do you actually think they'll answer?"

Seto's response was what I was expecting: "Shut up, Mokuba!"

I gulped a nervous "O-ooops..." before I turned to look at a nonchalant Melody, whose perseverant neutral expression made me feel ashamed to have an awkward face.

"I won't say a thing," Melody said coldly.

"Yeah, easy for you to say," I muttered begrudgingly, like a pouting child. "The Kaiba fangirls aren't going to let that one slip. So, any idea where Melvin and Florence are? Or do you think my second set of password doors is holding them up?"

"Judging by what Kaiba said, they probably dodged it," Melody replied, voice still set in cryptic mode. Or was it always like that...? Anyways, she continued, "As for Melvin and Florence, by the time we get to the doors, they'll be open, I know it."

"Hmm...I guess that's logical," I agreed, trying to sound smarter than I felt. "Do we split up for now? Let's vote."

"Sure." Melody's eyes flared with the confident glint that was a threat on its own. Her tone matched the confidence, her tone said she was ready. "Both of us will get the pleasure of beating them up."

"Okay. Let's split ourselves up evenly," I said, withdrawing the entrance roster I had used for my party. I went through the list in reverse of arrivals, and quoted, "Group one: Melody, the Frizzy Blonde twins..."

"Hey!" protested Yugi.

"I resent that!" Yami shouted.

I ignored their outbursts and continued setting up the groups, resuming, "And Enzan." I folded and ruffled through the sheet, constituting our second faction with the remaining names, "Group two: me, Jounochi, the Hikari twins, and Blues. Clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Netto responded, though Jounochi, oblivious to the announcement, continued humming the lyrics of Brooklyn Rage.

Enzan, taking a clear note of Group Two's roster, shrugged his shoulders and muttered gratefully, "Well, at least I'm not with Netto."

"And I put you with Melody on purpose," I whispered back, awaiting the predictable response.

Enzan delivered results immediately; his face changed from its neutral color to brick red.

l laughed, though in spirit with the gravity of the mission, my hand deviated to the pocket which held Pearl DS's "Pulse of Dissonance" card. Something, like my inborn gut or sixth altered sense, told me that the card's original owner would return soon enough.

~Perspective: Melody Hakurei~

I could tell that another fight was brewing, so I hit the brakes. "Easy guys," I said, "you can get back at her later. Let's go."

Pearl then looked at me and pouted with the expression of a spoiled brat. "Mel. Uh. Dee. That was mean. And I will now pronounce your name like that for eternity."

Yeah, right. "Hey," I responded nonchalantly without a trace of reaction, "I'm just saying what they _could_ do to you. You're the one who insulted them."

"…Good point. So, are we gonna split up or not? Last I checked we were looking for Melvin."

At this point it became obvious that Netto and Jounouchi _still_ weren't paying attention to the situation; they were still singing the refrain of "Brooklyn Rage".

I wasn't the only one. "Netto-kun, Jounouchi-kun…" Rockman said, "It's starting to get annoying…"

Pearl shrugged. "Let them have their fun." She then whipped out a flashlight and walked down a branching path.

"H-hey, wait!" Netto called out in surprise.

"Don't leave us behind!" Jounouchi added. Both then hurried down the path the blonde's group had gone.

Once they were out of sight, I sighed. "At least that's taken care of…come on guys, let's go after Florence."

Round One was about to start. And things were going to get ugly.

~End Perspectives~

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**As always, thank you for reading! Chapter 3 will be up soon!**


	3. Double Dark-Side Expedition

**Hey again! As promised, here's Chapter 3! Ooh, and if you're wondering about team names, Pearl came up with them. Her explanations (And I quote):**

Your Team (Melody), consisting of you, Enzan, Yami and Yugi, is called "Embodiment of Black-White Balance" which signifies the fact that everyone in your party has an even distribution of light and darkness (and even Enzan's hair is black and white!) My team (Pearl), with me, the Hikari twins, Blues, and Jounouchi, is called "Enchanters, Warriors, Assassins", which describes our different roles (I'm an "enchanter" because I can call upon magic, the Hikari twins are Network Warriors, Jounouchi has a warrior-themed deck, and Blues, before he met Netto and Rockman, behaved like an assassin, as he heartlessly slaughtered any interfering Navis); the first letters of each word can be spelled in reverse to spell "AWE".

**Anyway, enjoy!**

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_Team One: Embodiment of Black-White Balance_

_Members: Melody Hakurei, Yami Yugi, Yugi Mutou, Enzan Injuin_

The journey was set, the task was at hand. Enzan knew he was the most unfamiliar with the culprit of their quest, and immediately raised a question: "Florence...is the one with the bat-shaped hair, right? Does anyone here know him well enough to determine where he would go?"

"We've tangled with him a couple of times," Yami answered, "All we have to do is insult the fact he never got much screen time. Also, insult his British tendencies, which will rouse him."

"But this is the kicker," Yugi piped in, his voice soaring to a louder volume, one that sparked with the childish glee written in his wide eyes, "Hey, fluffy! Come out and fight, you fluffy kitty cat!"

The angered howl burst forth from the hall, as the recognizable rage-flared tone of Yami Bakura shouted back, "_WHO SAID THAT?!"_

"I did, Fluffy!" Yami yelled. It was obvious that the spirit was doing his part in protecting his partner, in this case by diverting Bakura's wrath to himself. "If you want me to stop," Yami continued loudly, "Then just try!"

The silhouette of Yami Bakura slowly came into view, and the Thief King's crazed, bloodshot eyes glared like a hungering beast's. The Millennium Ring sparked. His aura inflamed the entire room, with the slow, burning sensation of being roasted in a furnace. A bemused smirk curled upon the Thief King's lip.

"Oh, if it isn't the Pharaoh," Bakura muttered. "Can I have your throne now?"

"No." Yami's steely ice-cold tone seemed to freeze the hellish aura of Bakura's. The room became silenced, its occupants aware of the battle underway. Like the two opposite forces, frost and heat, the thief and the Pharaoh could never be reconciled.

"We just want to beat you up," Melody imputed. "Problem?"

"Oh, really?" Bakura mused. "Maybe you'll think differently when you see this..."

The Thief King set down his loot-filled sack, and opened the rim. The sack tipped over, and several pairs of leather pants spilled out. "I have the source of your power, Pharaoh!" Bakura triumphed, breaking into mirthful laughter.

"You do realize leather pants aren't the source of my power, right?" Yami retorted, surpassing a laugh at the image of the Thief King's crestfallen reaction.

No such luck, however, as Bakura said, "Of course, Pharaoh! Because I've also equipped myself with these!" He tapped the concrete with the heel of his shoe, proclaiming their type for all to hear: "_Leather shoes!_ Now we can be on equal _footing!"_

"And that's not it either," Melody said dryly. "We're following canon here."

"_What?!"_Bakura's conceited expression quickly fell prey to one of crestfallen disappointment. Angrily, he protested, "That's not fair; you called me by my abridged name, 'Florence'! Aren't I allowed to also take the advantage of the Abridged Series?!"

Yugi gave off a playful wink, before happily sticking out his tongue and replying mockingly, "Sorry, Bakura, main characters only."

He rubbed salt on the wound by laughing attune to that statement, an unwise move as it lured the Thief King into rage, a step which prodded him into the next action. The Millennium Ring blazed with light, an outpouring blast that instantly blinded all eyes, its pressure seeping through the team's skin pores, sensation so real it felt like steaming acid. There was a faint scream, yet the voice of its owner was a lost significance, as sense and feel only returned when the light died down.

Both Yami and Yugi glanced around. There were no fractured walls or scarred granite; visible signs of damage were absent, as if that light was as substance-less as its impact.

"Nothing. . .happened?" Yami muttered, confused.

"_Enzan-kun!" _Yugi shouted, quicker on the uptake than his reflected side. He knew Bakura was intending for something worse than physical damage. . .

And he was right. Enzan's body slackened and his blank-white eyes lost all presence. All presence of a soul, the trademark of a successful attempt from the Millennium Ring.

_Team Two: Enchanters, Warriors, Assassins_

_Members: Pearl Hikari, Netto Hikari, Rockman. EXE, Blues. EXE, Katsuya Jounouchi_

The worst part of the day was when the group ran into Seto Kaiba. At least, that's the way Pearl put it, and her reasoning came about due to one solid fact: Kaiba's hair color retained its Season 0 status, a neon green mushroom-like cut that beckoned laughter from the entire Team Two.

"Hey!" exclaimed Netto, somehow mustering the words together in spite of his shaking laughter, "Kaiba's hair looks like Enzan's Dye Disaster!"

That was the absolute wrong thing to say. Blues' hand twitched in accordance with drawing his sword, but he conquered the instinct in regards to the fact that there was nothing to fight. Angrily, he muttered, "Now I know where that picture went."

Netto flinched back, his round face reassembling to match a childish pout, as well as the fear of getting _busted _for his misdeed. He heard Rockman's soft voice whisper in his ear, "Netto-kun...what are you going to do now?"

"That's a no-brainer, Rockman," Netto answered, his mischievous smirk already returning despite the sudden setback. "Auction the copies of it on E-bay."

Frustrated, Rockman face-palmed and wailed, "No! Not that!"

Netto snickered at his Navi's confession of futility, though his victory was short-lived. The moment he let his guard down, Blues swooped in and took what opportunity offered; he grabbed the embarrassing picture straight out of Netto's hands and violently slashed it to shreds with his newly drawn sword.

Rockman breathed a sigh of relief. "At least that's settled..."

"That's what you think," Netto retorted gleefully. "I've got copies of that picture copied on my PC."

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**Thank you for reading once again! I hope to get Chapter 4 done soon!**


	4. Overwhelming Power! Racing to Reunite

**Hi again! Wow, these chapters are coming out fast...oh well, good for me, since I want to get as much as I can in before school starts! Enjoy Chapter 4!**

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_Team One: Embodiment of Black-White Balance_

_"What?!" _Melody said in shock, looking at Enzan's body before looking at Yami Bakura with cold, hard resolve. "You know what?" she said, her voice filled with anger at the loss of a friend, "I was going to let you off the hook, but change of plans: I'll make you suffer for what you've done!"

Yugi winked, as he knew exactly what was coming. "Looks like someone just messed up…"

The Thief King ignored him, replying, "Oh really, Hakurei-san? If you make me suffer, I'll make certain that your precious Enzan suffers as well."

"You won't have the chance," the former shrine maiden said in an icy tone. Summoning her staff, she pointed the blade at Bakura, quoting: "In a matter of minutes, you'll be nothing but a mist of atoms."

"Oh, that's what you think, Hakurei," Florence growled, the Millennium Ring flaring with light once more.

Melody smirked; she'd seen this coming. A wave of her hand, and a barrier came around her teammates, blocking off any chance of the Ring's magic succeeding in its objective. "Sorry," she said, "but you're nothing to me. That Ring is useless. Especially when I bring out this…"

And so the match began. The Thief King's manipulative Shadow Magic clashed with the beautiful yet dangerous bullets of the dimension traveler's Gensokyo spell cards. Naturally, there were a lot of explosions. Neither force would back down.

A bit into the battle however, Yugi noticed something, and brought it up with his darkness. "Mou Hitori no Boku…I think Melody-chan's losing."

"Aibou…" Yami said in response, "What makes you say that?"

"It's just that…she's hesitating. She's worried about Enzan, and that's what's distracting her. If...if we found where Bakura stashed Enzan's soul and freed it, she'd be able to blast him to a pulp without worry."

Yami pondered this for a moment. "I see. But where would Bakura hide Enzan's soul? Enzan has no favorite Duel Monster card—"

"And we made sure to destroy his figurine collection," Yugi finished.

"Exactly. Where else would he hide it?"

Deep in Melody's mind, she knew they were right. '_What can I do…?' _she wondered.

Suddenly, she noticed that a charm on her bracelet was glowing with light rapidly, as if it had traced a small amount of spiritual magic in the air. "Wait a minute…" she said, a hint of hope creeping in, "I know this signature! It's Enzan!"

"Ha, bad time to point that out!" Florence yelled, coming in for a sword swipe as Melody was distracted. The girl shouted in surprise and raised her arms up in hopes of defense.

"Mou Hitori no Boku…!" Yugi began.

"I heard what she said!" Yami answered back, the Millennium Puzzle around his neck beginning to glow with a warm light, "All we need to do now is pinpoint Enzan's location!"

No one knew what exactly happened next, but a somewhat chilly breeze went through, followed by a loud _CLANG_, definitely not the sound of Melody's wrists being chopped off.

"What?!" the Thief King hissed. "This can't be possible!"

"What happened…?" Melody asked as she slowly opened an eye to see the situation. She had felt the wind, and had a small theory about what happened, as that breeze had occurred when not a single window had been opened. There was only one explanation, the presence of a ghost. "Enzan!" She said in shock.

The black and white-haired, in spirit form no less, was holding back Florence's sword with one of his own. He turned around to face the girl, shouting, "Don't worry about me, take out this guy first!"

Yami Bakura though had other plans. He smirked as the Millennium Ring lit up again and black energy began spiraling around the boy's soulless body. "Ha, you want to protect her?!" he scoffed. "Let's see what happens when she has to fight YOU, Enzan!" The boy's body began to move on its own, eyes completely black.

Of course, Florence had forgotten about who else was witnessing the battle. "Not if I can help it!" Yami shouted, whipping out a danmaku spell card from his deck. "_"Yang Sign ~ Shadow's Purification"!_ Sorry Bakura, but the Puzzle overrides the Ring!" With that, Enzan's body went slack once more, the dark magic immediately expelled.

"Thanks, Yami!" Melody said in gratitude. Now that the threat of a hostage was no longer hanging over her, she was free to obliterate the Thief King into utter nothingness. Drawing the amulet that held the key to complete victory, the one she had threatened to use earlier to shut up Jounouchi and Netto, she smirked. "Get ready Bakura, because you're in for a world of hurt!" She held up the amulet, a malicious gleam in her eye. "Do you know what this is?"

_Team Two: Enchanters, Warriors, Assassins_

Rockman was not amused by his twin's answer. "Which I will lock up so that you will never get to them," he hissed in Netto's ear. Hey, he had done it before. The last time he had locked up all of Netto's video games until the younger Hikari gave in and finished his homework.

The brunette retaliated in a whisper, saying, "Aw, you're no fun, Rockman! We have so much blackmail material at our fingertips!"

"What was that, Hikari?" Blues asked in a menacing tone. He had apparently listened in to the conversation.

"Nothing I can't take care of, Blues..." Rockman replied.

All three of them were then interrupted by Seto Kaiba, him yelling: "Can we please get back to the Children's Card Games?!"

"Sure, sure, like Card Games is Serious Business..." Netto said sarcastically, obviously trying to annoy the KaibaCorp CEO. It worked.

"Oh, shut up!" Kaiba said with spite, pointing accusingly at the Net Savior's PET. "You guys play Children's Video Games!"

Netto decided to use logic to win this battle, laced with withering insults. "Video games are made for children! At least I don't sound like Brock from Pokémon!"

Kaiba's face flared red. "W-well! At least I don't...sound like a girl because I've got a female voice actor!"

"It's not like grown men can imitate a young boy's voice that well..." Rockman muttered, inadvertently helping his twin win the argument.

"Besides," Netto added, "at least I don't have a dragon fetish either!" This particular remark made Kaiba feel like a Burst Stream was being shot in his face, the heat burning into his skin.

"Oh, he's got you there, Kaiba!" Pearl said with glee, thoroughly enjoying the whole scene.

"Shut up, Pearl!" Kaiba yelled back. "It's not like you were rooting for me anyway!" Glaring at Netto, he then added, "And at least I'm not notorious for being extremely dense!"

The brunette grinned, and then dealt the finishing blow: "Screw density, I'm brilliant but lazy!"

_Team One: Embodiment of Black-White Balance_

Yami Bakura knew that challenging the instance of four-to-one was pushing his luck over the line. To even the scales, he first attempted to rid the opposing party one soul at a time, and his initial choice was to pluck the weak souls that had absolutely no resistances to the Millennium Ring's powers. Check. Enzan, the only specimen able to keep the first requirement, was already out of commission. Step two, eradicate the Pharaoh, his soul vessel, and proceed to take over the world. Those two stages, Yami Bakura realized, would need a few hundred phases in between if he ever wanted to create a successful world domination plan. At the very least, he'd have to contrive a third step for destroying the dimensional interloper, who took the liberty of bequeathing insanely powerful spell cards that the Thief King had no recognition of.

The Pharaoh then obliged to withdraw a cryptic glyph-ridden medallion from his pocket and held it in front of Bakura's face, reciting a bemused question which challenged the Thief King to state the name of said amulet. Of course, the Thief King suspected the article came from the Hakurei girl, as he never recalled seeing the medallion's lacy pattern back in the days when he had raided the Pharaohs' tombs.

"No," he snarled, "What is it?"

Yugi smirked at Bakura, as if mocking the Thief King's naïvety, and whispered to Yami, with a dark, excited glee: "I think we should show him, Mou Hitori no Boku. What do you think?"

A psychotic grin curled on Yami's lip, and he nodded, his ruby-like, fiery-danced eyes gleaming with deathly satisfaction, clearly savoring the idea. Melody, accepting the suggested option, also stated her approval of it: "Let's go then!" She then proceeded to snatch the amulet from Yami's hand and eagerly tossed it into the air, reciting her chant, each word invigorating the spell itself: "When two different kinds of magic combine with the emotions of strong-willed hearts, the ancient power that comes out is overwhelming! Start the Spell: Unity, Passion, Chaos, Meltdown!"

Those words themselves acted as the trigger; Bakura's sight blurred, as explosions clashed around him, erupting with the psychotic colors of hellish flares. Melody shouted in disbelief, her voice stating something about the explosive collision happening too early, though Bakura couldn't hear exactly what she was saying over the roaring force whirling against his ears. The Millennium Ring flickered with a feeble defense, and its guiding power was the only force that prodded Bakura to stay erect. Luckily, the sudden explosive spell died down, though with the matters at hand Bakura knew he would not be receiving any current mercy, especially judging from the expressions of his foes.

The twin silhouettes of Yugi and Yami still beheld their dark grins, but it appeared that their outfits had changed. They still had a base of the Domino High school uniform, but there were minor variations, such as Yugi's having rounded shoulder pads and Yami's having what looked like rolled up sleeves. The color scheme had faded to the iconic template of black and white, representing a concept the duo was often paired up with, the concept of true balance, Light and Dark, Yin and Yang. When they spoke, it was if they knew what each other was going to say beforehand, their voices soft-spoken yet sadistic and malicious. Their eyes were filled with red and blue flames, together the colors of insanity. "Hey, Bakura. . ."

"Let's play, shall we?"

The Thief King gasped for desperate breath, and stuttered, still in shock, "S-since when could a mere spell be so powerful. . .?"

"It'll only get worse from here," Yugi informed him, in a befitting icy tone. The golden Eye of Anubis spread forth on both his and Yami's foreheads, like twin irises preparing a union attack, as the two source-pupils soared together in lit harmony.

'_They're preparing a combo spell...?'_ Bakura thought. '_Ha. Every combo has one flaw...'_

The Millennium Ring blazed with light once more. Bakura didn't know what prodded him to activate its soul-stealing powers at this point, as Yugi and Yami already knew how to negate it; he was literally pushing the only option left to him now. That first spell had such staggering impact it could've destroyed him in one blow. The guarantee that the circumstances would only plunge more downhill was a mortifying thought, and the fact that these spells were skills inherited from dimensions Bakura had no knowledge of pitted him at an even worse disadvantage. Maybe, as he secretly hoped, Yugi and Yami were weakened from summoning that amulet spell. Maybe the Millennium Ring would succeed in its route this time around...

The light faded into mist, signifying the moment of truth.

And Yugi's body went rigid. His eyes emptied like Enzan's had, and the vacant shell tightened its stance, in perfect imitation of a rigid stone statue. Bakura triumphed, and hastily proclaimed, in answer to his own mind's statement: "When you take out one part of the combo...the entire thing becomes disabled!"

He wanted to rub it in the Pharaoh's face, to declare his victory in an infuriating monologue that would only mock Yami's inadequateness in preventing the two souls from being stolen; Melody's timely intervention was the only thing that stopped him from doing so, as she held out another cryptic spell card.

"Or not," she said arrogantly. "I forgot I had this! _"Spirit Capture ~ Soul Recovery"_!" She paused and scanned the previous amulet's picture, before resuming, "I believe the chant to activate their power says this: There are two different magic types used in Meltdown. They support and defend each other, meaning there are no weaknesses! Return to the state you were meant to be, Enzan and Yugi!"

Bakura could almost feel the souls of his recent victims cry a response to that spell, and as Melody continued her chant, he could feel Enzan's and Yugi's presence thickening, swishing past the Ring's dominance and back to their discarded vessels. Enzan quickly stood up, and Yugi happily flexed his arms.

"And to make sure this doesn't happen again," Yami said, his voice resembling the tone in which he used to hand out Penalties,_ "Items Hierarchy ~ Puzzle Domination"!_

The Millennium Ring sparked helplessly, and its power flow froze. The five surrounding blades no longer levitated in the Ring's dominant glow, and slackened, flapping feebly like mini-sized wind chimes.

"Hurting us with such flawed power is useless now, Bakura," Yami said further.

"You play by our rules now," Yugi imputed in a cold, monotone, lifeless voice. _"Resistance is futile."_

Bakura had to concede they were right; his most trusted weapon was reduced to dead iron by a mere spell, rather than by the Shadow Games used previously to silence it. And the obvious anger gleaming in Yugi and Yami's eyes said all too clearly that the Shadow Games would pale in comparison to the pain they would administer to the Thief King via spells.

He cursed under his breath, then upped his tone to an angry roar, "I know when I'm through!"

Using the speed befitting his status as a thief, Bakura turned heel and fled. From behind, he heard Yugi's high-pitched voice shout back at him, "Oh no you don't!" though Bakura paid him no attention and kept running.

Bad move, as Yami withdrew the card that would mark as the finisher, and Yugi had successfully summoned a light barrier, stopping the Thief King in his tracks and ensuring he would be around to take the full force of their final trump card spell.

_Team Two: Enchanters, Warriors, Assassins_

For some odd reason, Pearl found the entire debate amusing. That same unknown force prompted her to act as the judge and she stated a verdict in biased favor: "Kaiba, I think Netto wins in terms of debate."

Kaiba, already in an angry mood given the day's earlier events, did not take all that kindly to Pearl's verdict. Frustrated, he swatted Netto's arm and the propelling force of said strike caused the net-savor's PET to be sent flying in an awkward arc, until it plopped down into the grip of the child-sized figure that had soared into the room.

Literally, soared, as the child glided straight into the air with the wings attached to her back, wings that resembled a laundry line with widespread rainbow-patterned diamonds individually clipped along the gray-colored seam. She caught the thrown PET with ease, and murmured with the high-pitched phase of a childish laugh, "Kyuu, kyuu, this looks important..."

"ACK!" Netto scrambled to wrench his PET from the child's grasp. Thankfully, the device lacked any sign of harm, despite being momentarily held by the world's most devastating vessel of destruction. Netto released a quick sigh in relief, and his alleviation was visible in tone: "Phew, no damage. . ." He paused, and then addressed the destructive child, "Flandre, what are you doing here?"

"Plus, where did the explosions go?" Jounochi added, as he gave the area's walls a cursory glance that served as a check for visible damage. "I don't see anything wrong here. . ."

Pearl, however, could've sworn she heard a faint explosion on the upper floors, where Melody's team had gone to face Yami Bakura. She silently prayed for her friend's safety, hoping that Flan's explosions hadn't harmed Black-White Balance.

"Kyuu, kyuu!" Flandre beamed. "The white-haired man promised he'd play with me!"

This was an obvious response to Netto's question. However, it spawned confusion, in which Netto blurted out, "'White-haired'?! Not...Enzan!? Flandre-chan, was his hair partially black?"

Flandre shook her head. Her psychotic eyes gleamed in joyful anticipation, her resulting smirk baring her blade-like vampire fangs. "No. It was really, really frizzy. Like a bat."

The description of a bat was befitting for a vampire, and just the answer of the culprit's hair already implied who he was.

Sarcastically, Kaiba, who needed no more description other than the specified bat-hair, muttered, "Oh, goody. She wants to play with Florence. . ."

"Kyuu, kyuu, so that's his name?" Flandre cackled. "I thought it was Melvin."

Coming from the world's most prominent destroyer, that mere statement was more than enough to provoke suspicion. Cautiously, Jounochi piped in, "Let me guess, you ran into Melvin, didn't you?"

Flandre giggled with the psychotic laughter befitting one of her status. "Yup! I think I broke him, though..."

Pearl herself, however, found the thought of a psychotic vampire obliterating a psychotic anyone-hugger humorous, and applauded Flandre for her claimed actions.

"Well, that's one less worry on our hands," she announced to the rest of AWE, "Anybody know where Melody's team went?"

Pearl had no idea what made her blurt out that last question so randomly; perhaps it was because she was concerned over Melody's welfare before, when Flandre had first incited her overpowering explosions. Maybe she was worried about Yami Bakura's capabilities with the Millennium Ring, fearing how many empty shells the team would find if they stepped onto what remained of the battle field. Whatever the reason, Pearl knew the two teams would have to reunite soon.

Team AWE trekked on. In response to Pearl's previous question, Katsuya Jounochi spoke forth once again, pointing out the obvious answer before their very eyes.

"I can guess," Jounochi whispered, as he pointed to the outer rims of a casted light barrier. Pearl's eyes widened. A complete dome of transparent energy had closed around the area, a clear-marked boundary. She felt tremendous pressure building up in the dome, its reach so vast it even affected the outer air, hardening the winds into layered walls. Streaks of power whirled from all sides, converging together into one cortex, though Pearl couldn't imagine what insanity had summoned them all at once. As Jounochi had clearly stated, she could only _guess_.

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**Oooh, cliffhanger! That'll keep all of you readers anticipating for more! Thank you for reading, and don't forget to fave and review! Chapter 5 is up next!**


	5. Meltdown: Overdrive to Cool-off

**Hi everyone! Sorry this took so long, both of us have become extremely busy as of late. No worries though, we're still working to make sure we roll out the chapters! Now, without further ado, we present Chapter 5! Hope you enjoy it!**

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Chapter 5 ~ Meltdown: Overdrive to Cool-off

As she saw Yugi's light barrier appear and circle the field, Melody knew that her work was done. They had the Thief King at their mercy, and judging by the expressions on Yugi and Yami's faces, they had no intention of giving any. She could see it in their eyes, the utter rage and determination to destroy the one who had caused them so much trouble and drama in the past. Their emotions seemed to be on a runaway train preparing to ram into its victim, and she wasn't going to try to stop it. Actually, she was questioning if she even _could_ at this point if she wanted to. In any case, she helped Enzan back onto his feet, and they could only stand there and watch.

Yami had a grin so psychotic even Flandre Scarlet couldn't compare to it, relishing the moment. He then spoke the words that signaled Yami Bakura's execution: _"Sayonara, limey."_

"Time to finish this!" the two said simultaneously, then summoned their weapons and took to the sky. Melody realized with a start that her suspicions were correct, yet at the same time absolute understatements: yes, Florence was dead meat, but at this rate, there was going to be no remains left. The train had just hit the gas and was going to bring out its full firepower.

Yugi and Yami began to chant a spell that the dimension traveler didn't even think the two would know; it was if they managed to find the words from a driving force deep within, subconsciously controlling their actions. The words seemed to be tied to their very souls, stating the key traits their basic desires embodied:

_Musei, Chusei, Tenshi, Hikari…_

_Hokori, Kyouki, Kage, Yami…_

_Silent, Neutral, Angelic, Light..._

_Pride, Insanity, Shadow, Darkness..._

On and on it went. Each round their power seemed to grow constantly, eventually manifesting in the form of 6 wings on their backs.

Yugi's seemed to be the blades of the "Swords of Revealing Light" spell card, pure white with a yellow glow. His staff was a halberd with the Yin symbol as the blade ends and a purple gem in the center of the top blade, an innocent amethyst.

Yami's were more complex, reminiscent of the Goddess of Makai herself, Shinki, save for the Eye of Anubis smack in the middle of each wing. In his hand was a sword with the same Eye as the hilt, a fiery ruby in the center, then continuing to a black grip with red ribbon tied around it before ending with the Yang symbol as the pommel.

Without a doubt, this was the most amount of power Melody had seen them use in this form. Along with Pearl's team, who had just arrived shortly after the barrier was thrown up, she watched in awe as the duo was about to make their next move.

Pearl wished she could claim to have watched the staggering spell erupt in a nonchalant silence, in a manner so befitting its double casters. Such demeanor was impossible in the face of the Millennium Meltdown.

The moment Yugi and Yami's seraph wings expanded, and the two clashed their weapons together, the destructive supernova of a spell blasted its way into existence. Its initial pattern was those of spiraling bullet streams, with multi-colored projectiles that formed lacy mid-air grids; the spirals then signaled massive, seizure-inducing explosions, the twin forces of light and darkness unleashing their full wrath in the illuminated, alternating bullet pattern sparking within the barrier's boundaries.

Pearl felt the resulting force push against the barrier's wall, and she was grateful it didn't collapse from the sheer pressure of the dizzying spell .She could only guess of the fate of Bakura, and for once, Pearl found herself sympathizing with the Thief King. There would no corpse to show his death.

She didn't smirk at that, and when the signal that the spell had concluded appeared in the phase of evaporating smoke, Pearl stared into the shattering light barrier, her eyes confirming that the pressure was indeed dying down; Yami and Yugi's seraph wings remained ever-present, but the bullet trails had faded, and Bakura was nowhere to be seen.

Both teams, of course, rejoiced. Their efforts had led to a reunion, and the task had been accomplished successfully. Conversations weaved as the teammates began exchanging adventure accountings, so much to the extent that no one noticed the lone figure of Pearl, as she trekked her way to the spot where the spell originated, holding the thin slip of a spell card in her fingertips.

The card sparked with feeble embers, causing its bearer to break into a sudden scowl; Pearl then forced her expression to take a neutral stance, but the thin tightened lines of stress was still visible in the midst of her face's outline.

If the "Pulse of Dissonance" card was reacting to the magical particles still radiant from previous spells, then Pearl DS had casted a far-distant spell to interfere, most likely one that transported Bakura to safety before the Millennium Meltdown had collided with him. It made the most sense, especially as the circumstances were too suspicious as they already were; Bakura had appeared _right after _Pearl DS had suffered defeat at the hands of Yami Yugi.

It wouldn't be illogical to accuse the two of being allies. How she had smuggled such a spell through the barrier, was a different matter altogether, though Pearl herself suspected Bakura of using the Millennium Ring to bend space's fabric in order for the spell to get through; he had tried activating its power before the Millennium Meltdown had been unleashed, but what if the seemingly futile gesture was in fact a tactical move rather than one made in desperation?

Pearl took a deep breath to calm those thoughts, a mild attempt to loosen her tense face. She pocketed her spell card once more, not daring to tell Yugi and Yami that the Meltdown may have been rendered useless due to suspected interference; nothing had been confirmed, and she was not willing to plant unfounded anxieties unto her teammates.

She wrenched herself from her streamline of thought so that no one would suspect what she was meditating on, coming to the sudden realization she always came to whenever she spaced out from the surrounding world; events actually occur while you're in your own world, and staying oblivious to them means you'll have to catch up with the news on your own time.

Pulling back to reality, Pearl had found out that Yusei Fudo had arrived, riding into the room on his D-Wheel and shouting to the group, in the friendly manner befitting the addressing of acquaintances, "Hi, guys! What did I miss?"

"Not much," answered Melody, shifting eyes to the new arrival. She had noticed that her comrade Pearl had been silent for a while, staring at one of her cards as if transfixed by its significance; she too had just realized Yusei had entered, and hastened to cover up her own silence. "We were just beating up Melvin and Florence."

"Err...right." Yusei did a double take, as the six seraph wings of Yugi and Yami still remained unfurled in their full glory, their presence an obvious trigger of confusion. "Err...are those two alright?" Yusei said shakily. "And why are there wings sprouting out of their backs?!"

"Oh, well that's the aftermath of a powerful spell, Yusei," Rockman reassured him, making an effort to sound casual as not to stir any further anxiety.

Yusei, however, was not appeased, and inquired further, noting Rockman's unusual tone, "You're saying that so casually . . . does this spell happen often?"

Rockman casted a nervous glance at Melody's direction; the details of the Meltdown spell were shrouded in rumor, and she, as the creator of its entirety, would only be able to provide the wholesome facts. As such, the cobalt Navi stated, "I think Melody is the best person to ask about that."

"I might as well ask her then," Yusei muttered.

Flandre, however, seemed more intent in seeing the Meltdown's effects rather than researching its properties, both obvious symptoms manifesting themselves in her gleaming scarlet-hued eyes. "Kyuu, kyuu~! Are you going to play with me?" the child mused.

Yami smirked at the prospect, and replied, "Correction: WE'RE going to play with you-"

"-That is, until you break!" Yugi supplied. "Isn't that something you would say, Miss Flandre?" the boy added with an icy smile gracing his equally frosty expression. The light that he embodied seemed so cold and unmerciful at this point, a stark contrast from his usual cheerful and warm disposition. There was no such emotion like that in his eyes.

At this, Pearl's suppressed anxiety resurfaced, and the outlines of evident stress tightened around her jawbone. Fearfully, trying to initiate then her sudden role as the voice of reason, she cut in, "Um...is allowing Crazy Flandre and Meltdown Mode to play a good idea? I mean, the enemy's gone, right?"

Melody shifted her gaze back onto Pearl's frame, noting the stress present on her friend's features. Her explanation of the matter at hand was done so in a slow manner, yet its reassuring effect was widespread, as her demonstration of knowledge over the spell's entirety imparted the silent message that she had complete control over the situation.

"Millennium Meltdown also leaves them in a subconscious state, the Puzzle slightly in control," Melody articulated. "Occasionally they need to fight someone else to vent out the extra energy, otherwise they're stuck like that. Not that _I_ mind, anyway." She giggled playfully, almost in a manner defying the usual cryptic self she projected, resuming, "Sassy Yugi is fun~!"

"Oh. Good to note," Yusei said blankly, trying to process the near overload of information presented by the details. Pearl, in contrast, nodded in understanding, though she remained silent and unmoving.

Netto, also present, experimentally poked Yugi on the forehead, jabbing his finger at the middle of the shimmering golden emblem, as if trying to gauge a reaction. He ignored Rockman's outcry of warning, but to dire consequence as he was soon flung away by an angered Yugi, who seized Netto's wrist and violently hurled the brunette with such staggering force he spiraled towards the wall like a zooming bullet.

"Out of my way, Hikari," he hissed. "I have a vampire to shatter." Yugi whirled around to face Flandre, his normally serene purple eyes now reflecting the urge of battle, as if beckoning her into his challenge, "Well? Do you accept?"

Flandre responded with an outburst of pure sadistic joy, her fangs aligning to form a wide vampiric smile, as she spread her multi-colored wings in ready flight. "Yes! Kyuu, kyuu, play with me!" she chanted, a crimson aura radiating from her extended wings. "_Taboo ~ Lävatein!"_

The proclamation became the spell's trigger; fiery blades erupted underfoot as tornados of spiraling bullets whirled overhead, a splendid yet deadly cage.

"And so we begin," Yugi muttered, his cold tone resembling that of a lament. The first attack already seemed flawless, but despite that Yugi and Yami countered easily, folding their seraph wings to evade the row of fiery javelins and then jetting upwards, enveloping themselves in a protective layer of magic to deflect the upper projectile streams.

Yami grinned as the bullets spiraled around in futility. "Time for a little counterattack," he mused. _"Duelist Weapon ~ Spirit of Shadow's Sword!"_

The younger Scarlet was simply ecstatic, twirling around to dodge the bullets that spawned out of the sword hilt and zipped around the field like lightning. "Kyuu, kyuu, this fun!" she said with joy. She pulled out another spell card and attempted to activate it, but before the full name of that card escaped her mouth, time slowed around the battlefield and faded to grayscale. The card froze, trapped in compliance with the sudden change. The combatants however were unchanged, albeit a bit confused on what happened.

A maid with silver hair and holding a stopwatch of the same metallic-like color stepped into view out of thin air. "Young mistress," Sakuya Izayoi said, "Remilia-sama wishes for you to return to the Mansion. You can either do this the easy way, or the more painful route."

"Kyuu…" the vampire said sullenly as she descended, looking down at her shoes and the floor.

Yugi and Yami decided that playtime was over, both for her and for them. They could feel the magic flowing through them beginning to fade out, and to continue fighting when they were exhausted would be suicide. Making up their mind, they both looked the young Scarlet straight in the eyes and spoke: "I suggest you leave…before we change our minds about letting you off easy."

Flandre wouldn't have one bit of it though. Like a spoiled brat, she whined in protest, "No! Sakuya-san, I want to fight!"

"Flandre-chan," Sakuya said sternly, "I received strict orders from Mistress Remilia: Come home now."

Seeing how there was no way that she was going to negotiate with the Perfect and Elegant Maid, the 495-year old sighed in defeat. "Fine. If Onee-chan says so…" With that, the two disappeared and the battlefield returned to normal, time resuming its normal course.

And not a moment too soon. Light and Darkness turned to smile at each other, then closed their eyes and willingly released Millennium Meltdown, the colors of their modified outfits draining out and fading away along with their seraph wings back into nothingness. When their eyes reopened, the irises had returned to their normal states of lavender and maroon respectively.

The Hikari twins had borne witness to the de-transformation, but due to the fact that the last time they got close one of them ended up face-planting the wall, they were a bit more wary approaching the twin Duelists. Netto attempted to poke Yugi again to see what would happen; hey, he already know it was a terrible idea, but he didn't have any others at the moment.

The Pharaoh's reincarnation turned and gave the younger Hikari a look of pure innocence. "Hm? What is it, Netto-kun?"

"U-uh, nothing!" the brunette stuttered, trying to save face and not act like an idiot for once. Rockman on the other hand already knew inside of his head that by doing that the Net-Savior had practically given the lie away in one clean sweep.

Netto soon figured this out as well, and did a second attempt: "Um, anyone want to have a Net-Battle?"

The Navi could only face-palm in exasperation.

"Oh, and before I forget," Yugi said, unaffected the sudden proposal, "I apologize for acting so roughly earlier." His tone dropped to a more solemn whisper: "I don't really have much control over myself when I'm in that state."

"Don't worry about it!" Netto reassured him. "It can't be as bad as Rockman's Beast forms, right?"

Yugi shifted his eyes, a glimmer of red pulsing up in the pupil angle. It seemed to weigh down his composure into a deeper gravity, as his face tensed up with a darker, serious outline. "Unless I activate it out of emotional stress," he replied further, "Then whoever forced me to do that is good as dead."

"So we've seen," Rockman muttered, with the befitting awe accompanying the spectacle's aftermath. He did not speak onwards, and his twin followed suit, as if enthralled in a nervous silence. The air seemed to be thickening around Yugi, a broadcasted aura whose effect was almost that of a barrier, a fine line between Yugi Mutou, and the rest of the surrounding world.

"Now what?" said Yugi hastily; this time around, his voice reflected a childish sort of curiosity, and his round face reconfigured to match this projection. It was evident that Yugi was anxious to change the subject, a desperation to move away from the topic concerning the branch of magic he had only minimal knowledge of.

Netto was helpful in this department. He half-shouted, in a gleeful, anticipating tone, "We raid Kaiba's fridge while he's distracted!"

"Yay!" cheered an eager Jonouchi, who casted a cautious glance at Kaiba's direction; the cursory viewing supported the notion, as Kaiba was currently preoccupied with his cell phone, bellowing insults to the person on the other line. He was distracted, a fact that titled the scenario to thievery's favor.

"W-wait a minute!" Yugi protested, in an obvious endeavor to deter the two from their objective, "I don't think we should do that! Kaiba wouldn't appreciate that...and don't even think about saying that it's Kaiba!" he added hurriedly, as both Jonouchi and Netto had opened their mouths to argue back, "I don't care!"

"Yugi is right, Netto-kun!" supported Rockman, "Remember the last time you raided Kaiba's fridge?!"

Ah, the resort of mentioning previous failure; a common older sibling tactic, but not of fool-proof status. Netto huffed an oblivious "Nope!" in response, as Jonouchi supplied, "Not really. So, Netto, what's the plan?"

"You too, Jonouchi-kun?" Yugi muttered in disbelief, exchanging exasperated looks with Rockman.

In response, Rockman gave a nervous sigh, as his face also fittingly reconfigured to match the vexing circumstances.

Jonouchi and Netto continued discussing tactics, and within seconds the two gleeful thieves dashed onto the newly landed KaibaCorp blimp, feasting on the contents of the richly filled fridge. Reluctantly, Yugi and Rockman trekked up the blimp's plated staircase, just to check on the progress of their partners. It was their unfortunate fate to discover that Kaiba had also boarded, and was currently cursing the emptied shelves of the fridge for turning to that state. Wildly, he turned to and fro in desperate hopes to pin the miscreant, but luck did not bestow him the favor; he should have looked upwards, as Yugi both reasoned and did, since the said culprits were presently gripping the overhead rafters, clinging to the wooden boards in feared effort not to come tumbling down onto the scene of suspicion. Jonouchi was frantically mouthing a dire message for Yugi not to divulge their position, but Yugi's quick eye caught Netto's loosening hold on the rafters; expertly, he summoned a mental force field to save Netto the tragedy of plunging into downward trouble, and his treasure trove of distracting excuses pulled out the winning card to manage Kaiba leaving the immediate proximity without hassle.

"How about we go for ice cream or something? We could go to a bakery," Yugi said loudly.

The moment a detour to the bakery was brought into the fray, the younger and pastry-loving Mokuba urged his brother Seto to seize the opportunity, forcing the CEO executive to drag himself to the blimp's radar room in preparation to obey the proposition. Mokuba departed with him, happily humming his way down the hall.

Now safety at the cue, Jonouchi and Netto climbed their way down the rafters, each expressing their gratitude for Yugi's quick actions on the uptake. Yugi accepted the thanks graciously, but his serene purple eyes flickered momentarily to the flaming irises meant as penalty, as he said warningly, "You're welcome, but don't do that again." The flames surged upwards, boring a bolted sphere almost like a pupil at the center of Yugi's eyes, as he continued further, "Next time I won't be so merciful."

* * *

**And there you have it! Now, Pearl and I have become a tad bit annoyed over the fact that there are so little reviews. We really want to know what other people think about this story, so give us a little feedback! And if you think this is awesome, go and recommend it! It would be really nice if more people knew about this little project we have. Thank you all for reading; Chapter 6 is up next!**


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